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LaVINNA BLANCHARD, 90, of Oakland (Memorial Svc. 7/19/21)

Obituaries

July 16th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

LaVINNA BLANCHARD, 90, of Oakland, died on July 18, 2020, at the Oakland Manor. A memorial service for LaVINNA BLANCHARD will be held 11-a.m. Monday, July 19, 2021, at the Oakland United Methodist Church. Rieken Vieth Funeral Home in Oakland is assisting the family.

Visitation with the family will be from 9:30 AM until the time of the service. Interment will be at a later date.

LaVINNA BLANCHARD is survived by:

Her husband of 70 years, -Harold “Doc” Blanchard.

Her daughters – Jackie (Don) Hildebrand, of Oakland, and Sherri Blanchard and friend Tye Williams, of Carson City, NV.

3 grandchildren; 1 great-grand child, other relatives and friends.

LEONARD ALM, Sr., 91, of Rochester, MN (& formerly of Stanton & Griswold) – Memorial Mass 7/24/21

Obituaries

July 16th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

LEONARD ALM, SR., 91, of Rochester, MN, died December 28, 2020 at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester. A Memorial Mass for LEONARD ALM, SR., will be held 10:30-a.m. Saturday, July 24th, at Saint Peter & Paul Catholic Church, in Atlantic. Rieken Duhn Funeral Home in Griswold is assisting the family.

Interment will be in the Catholic section at Pleasant Township south of Griswold. Lunch with the family will be held at the Griswold Community Building, following the interment.

LEONARD ALM, SR., is survived by:

His sons – Leonard (Cathy) Alm, Jr., of LaVista, NE; Tom (Monica) Alm, of Ashland, NE; and Dan (Leigh Anne) Alm, of Omaha, NE;

His daughters – Jan Alm and friend John Madacey of Rochester, MN; Teri Fisher of Omaha, NE, and Jeni Alm of Omaha, NE;

12 grandchildren, 4 step-grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren.

ERVIN E. MOORE, 72, of Oakland (Memorial Svcs. 7/21/21)

Obituaries

July 15th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

ERVIN E. MOORE, 72, of Oakland, died Tuesday, July 13, 2021, at home. A Memorial service for ERVIN MOORE will be held 10:30-a.m. Wednesday, July 21st, at the Carson United Methodist Church. Rieken-Vieth Funeral Home in Oakland has the arrangements.

Visitation with the family will be held on Tuesday, July 20, 2021, from 6:00 PM until 7:30 PM at the Rieken Vieth Funeral Home in Oakland.

Interment will be in the Oaklawn Cemetery in Oakland.

ERVIN MOORE is survived by:

His daughters: Angela (Greg) Fritz, of Avoca; Kristy Wichman and Jesse Winget, of Oakland.

His son – Kenneth Taul (Jackie) Moore, of Oakland.

His brothers – Wayne Moore, David (Rennee) Moore, and Dean Moore.

His sisters – Connie Slatley and Patricia (Marvin) Shipley.

20 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren; his special friend Toni Casson and her children; other relatives, and friends.

Adams County Sheriff’s report

News

July 15th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday, issued a report on recent arrests. Today (Thursday), 28-year-old Jesse Beaman, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 12:10-a.m., on two counts of Harassment in the 1st Degree, and Interference with Official Acts.

On Wednesday, 69-year-old Daniel Jungbuth,  of Saint Charles, was arrested at around 11:50-p.m., for Public Intoxication, following an investigation into a Corvette parked on the shoulder of Highway34 near Cherry Avenue. There were two arrests that took place Monday: 28-year-old Deven Heimke, of Corning, was arrested at around 8:40-p.m, for Assault Causing Bodily Injury. And, 55-year-old Steven Wirtz, of Corning, was arrested at around 7:15-p.m., for Assault Causing Bodily Injury.

And, on July 4th at around 8:40-p.m., Adams County Deputies arrested 35-year-old Brandon Clayton, of Clearfield, for Violation of a No Contact Order.

State casinos see record revenue in just ended fiscal year

News

July 15th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa)  -Iowa’s state-licensed casinos saw a post-pandemic surge and set a record for the fiscal year that ended in June. Racing and Gaming Administrator Brian Ohorilko says gross revenue was more than one-point-five BILLION dollars. (1,575,410,919) The adjusted gross receipts this last fiscal year was our highest to date,” he says. Ohorilko says with many entertainment venues still not open — people visited one of the 19 casinos. “We have seen record numbers at all of the casinos. Attendance still hasn’t bounced back completely — but the folks that are attending are spending their discretionary income” according to Ohorilko.

The gross revenue is 412 million dollars more than the previous fiscal year, and attendance was up by more than 860-thousand compared to the previous year when there were pandemic shutdowns. “It really has been a very interesting time to be in this industry, no different than other industries. Prior to the pandemic the casino business had been growing slightly — but had fairly stabilized — it was a very predictable market,” Ohorilko says. He says the last five or six years had seen some modest increases or decreases in casino revenue. “Attendance numbers had continued to decline and that was the trend we were seeing prior to the pandemic. Obviously, with the pandemic, it really impacted the casinos. A few of them even had to take advantage of some of the federal assistance that was available. A number of employees were furloughed during this period of time,” Ohorilko says. And then coming out of the pandemic, there is no doubt some pent-up demand.”

Ohorilko believes the post-pandemic surge is not a new upward trend. “I think most people in the industry are cautiously optimistic that things will continue to be good and that there won’t be too much leveling off,” he says, “but I do think most people expect at some point that we will have some stabilization.” The casino news comes on the heels of the news by the Iowa Lottery that they had set a revenue record through may with the June numbers still remaining to be tallied for their fiscal year.

Here are the comparisons of gross revenue for this fiscal year and last:

Ameristar II (2020 FY) $125,069,899 (2021 FY) $165,813,532

Casino Queen – Marquette (2020 FY) $16,774,521 (2021 FY) $18,122,047

Catfish Bend Casino (2020 FY) $32,120,253 (2021 FY) $43,312,686

Diamond Jo -Dubuque (2020 FY) $56,288,403 (2021 FY) $68,075,215

Diamond Jo -Worth (2020 FY) $66,176,954 (2021 FY) $95,879,440

Grand Falls Casino Resort (2020 FY) $51,068,556 (2021 FY) $77,985,618

Hard Rock Casino (2020 FY) $61,131,382 (2021 FY) $87,071,790

Harrah’s Council Bluffs (2020 FY) $52,346,691 (2021 FY) $58,119,156

Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs (2020 FY) $141,079,667 2021 FY $180,348,582

Isle of Capri -Bettendorf (2020 FY) $51,185,660 (2021 FY) $68,543,830

Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo (2020 FY) $65,610,428 (2021 FY) $88,403,509

Lakeside Casino (2020 FY) $40,140,089 2021 FY $47,606,985

Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino (2020 FY) $157,183,728(2021 FY) $206,650,185

Q Casino (2020 FY) $39,695,531 (2021 FY) $50,257,313

Rhythm City Casino (2020 FY) $64,095,082 (2021 FY) $110,258,958

Riverside Casino (2020 FY) $76,697,150 (2021 FY) $116,284,366

Wild Rose – Clinton (2020 FY) $23,962,022 (2021 FY) $32,920,515

Wild Rose – Emmetsburg (2020 FY) $20,300,642 (2021 FY) $27,418,527

Wild Rose – Jefferson (2020 FY) $22,489,579 (2021 FY) $32,338,665

Bahena defense attorneys suggest Tibbetts murder may be linked to case of missing Montezuma boy

News

July 15th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A judge says he’ll rule by Friday on whether the defense attorneys for the man convicted of murdering Mollie Tibbetts should have access to state investigation records in two other cases. The attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera say they learned hours after a jury convicted Bahena that another man was claiming he killed Tibbetts. Attorney Jennifer Frese suggests there may be a link with the case of a missing 11-year-old boy from Montezuma. “Three people have vanished out of thin air in this small rural county: Mollie Tibbetts, Xavior Harrelson and the woman that reported being abducted in May of 2018 and being sex trafficked,” Frese said.

Scott Brown, the lead prosecutor on the case, says Bahena’s attorneys are on a fishing expedition. “This whole issue that they raised with Xavior Harrelson. That is a pending investigation. The fact that they would put this information in a public document, which we did try to get ahead of, is unconscionable in my mind.” Brown says he offered to stop the trial in May after learning two people had claimed to have heard another man confess he was the one who killed Tibbetts, but Bahena’s attorneys declined. Brown says the account Bahena’s lawyers presented in court today was confusing. “No evidence supports it. None,” Brown said “Zero!”

Bahena was to be sentenced today (Thursday), but the trial judge granted a delay to consider the request to pursue new leads in the case. Chad Frese, one of Bahena’s attorneys, suggests prosecutors sat on information about a woman who says she was kidnapped in Brooklyn two months before Tibbetts was abducted. “There’s evidence here that 10 kids in this area have gone missing. We’ve provided that,” Frese said. “There’s something rotten in this area.”

The judge plans to hold a hearing July 27th to consider defense motions for a new trial.

Cedar Falls native Trev Alberts named new AD at Nebraska

Sports

July 15th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Cedar Falls native Trev Alberts has been named the new Athletic Director at Nebraska. Alberts was an All-American for the Huskers in 1993 and spent the past 12 years as the AD at Nebraska-Omaha.

Alberts was a multi sport standout at Cedar Falls N-U High before signing with Husker coach Tom Osborne.

Alberts takes over at a time the Nebraska football program is struggling. The Huskers have posted a 12-20 record in three years under current coach Scott Frost.

Big 12 Football Media Days in Dallas

Sports

July 15th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State has been picked to finish second in the Big 12 preseason football poll. The Cyclones head into the most anticipated season in school history after falling to Oklahoma in the league championship game and beating Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl 19 starters return from that team.

That’s Cyclone coach Matt Campbell who spoke at Big 12 Media Days in Dallas. Campbell says they are focused on the future and not what has been accomplished.

Campbell says the Cyclones know it will be a difficult road to a championship.

The Cyclones are also considered a contender for the College Football Playoff but must avoid the early season stumbles that have plagued them the past few years.

The Biggest hurdle may be an Oklahoma team that is favored to win a seventh straight Big 12 title. Sooner coach Lincoln Riley.

Riley says he does feel the Sooners have potential.

Texas has been picked to finish third in the pre season poll. Oklahoma State is fourth and TCU is fifth.

Cyclones not focused on expectations

Sports

July 15th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State running back Breece Hall says the Cyclones are not focused on lofty expectations as they get ready for the season. Coming off a win in the Fiesta Bowl ISU is picked to finish second in the Big 12 preseason poll and is considered a contender for the College Football Playoff.

Hall says with 25 seniors on the roster the experience should help.

Safety Greg Eisworth was one of eight players to take advantage of the extra year provided by COVID and says the Cyclones are keeping the expectations in check.

Eisworth says the Cyclones have discussed what needs to be the focus.

Iowa State opens September fourth at home against UNI.

2 women arrested on separate warrants in Page County

News

July 15th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports two women were arrested this week, on separate warrants. On Wednesday, Deputies arrested 23-year-old Bailey Nicole McClarnon, of Clarinda, on a Montgomery County Warrant for Violation of Probation. McClarnon was arrested at her residence and was unable to post the $1,000 cash-only bond. She was subsequently transported Villisca and turned over to a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy.

And, on Tuesday, Page County Sheriff’s Office Deputies arrested 30-year-old Destiny Estalin Louise Graham, of Coin, on two Page County warrants. She was taken into custody at her residence. The first warrant was for Failure to appear on original charges of Disorderly conduct & Interference with Official acts. The second warrant was for Failure to appear on an original charge of Violation of Compulsory Education Mediation Agreement/1st Offense. Bond on each warrant was $500 cash only.  Graham was transported to the Page County Jail and held on a $1,000 cash only bond stemming from the two warrants, pending further court appearances.

Destiny Graham